Archive for the ‘Technical Tree Felling Techniques’ Category

Arborwood Tree Service Inc. is investing in comprehensive safety and skills training for their staff in 2015 and 2016 by hosting three weeks of training that will cover the topics of:

– Tree Dynamics & Integrated Risk Assessment

– Tree Biology & Care

– Hazard and Danger Tree Cutting & Falling

– Tree Climbing, Fall Protection & Work Positioning

– Tree Rope Access

– Emergency Readiness & High Angle Rescue

– Aerial Lift Operations & Fall Protection

– Aerial Lift Emergency Evacuation & Extrication

– Production Tree Removal & Rigging

– Arborist Technical Rigging

The training started with one week in May and will continue with weeks in November of this year and in April of 2016. The program is being partially funded by the Canada – Ontario Job Grant Program.

Arboriculture Canada customizes training programs to specifically meet the job requirements and unique training needs of your staff. Our training programs are facilitated by experts in both adult education methods, as well as experts in the skills areas of arboriculture being taught. If you are interested in receiving funds for training your staff internally in arboriculture skills and safety from the Canada Job Grant programs available in every province of Canada, please inquire with Arboriculture Canada to receive the information for applications.

Arborwood Tree Service is dedicated to providing superior customer service. Their great reputation is built on professionalism and customer satisfaction. This training will ensure that staff meets this expectation. www.arborwood.ca

We are proud to announce that we have been accepted as members of the ABA International body. Arboriculture Canada is now a National Awarding Body (NAB). We would like to introduce the ABA to our customers in Canada, and especially the candidates who have successfully achieved qualification status (chainsaw) through our testing process in the past years. (other domains to come)

Who is the ABA?

ABA International (Awarding Body Association) was founded in 2012 in response to a demand for international recognition of qualifications gained at state or national levels. The trans-national mobility of qualified people facilitated by a voluntary partnership of national awarding bodies is a core principle of ABA.

ABA is managed on a minimum administrative basis in a cost effective manner. A simplified organisational structure provides each member country equal representation within the association.

National awarding bodies (NAB) are subject to an International accreditation and vetting process. Core to quality assurance and uniformity of the qualifications is the principle of trans-national supervision. In support of this principle ABA continuously develops, updates and enhances International qualifications skills standards & matrices.

Why Get ABA Certification?

National skills certification demonstrates that you have achieved a recognised standard within your skills or chosen occupational sector. In addition, the ABA International ‘stamp of approval’ on your certification provides the following benefits:

Enhanced employability: demonstrates your competency at an international level to current or potential future employers(helping to break-down barriers)

Enhanced credibility: demonstrates proof of your skills verified to rigorous national and international standards (high quality)

Are you an Arboriculture Canada Qualified Technician in a Chainsaw Domain?

Arboriculture Canada has been given equivalency for chainsaw qualification with the ABA in the following chainsaw training domains. If you have taken a chainsaw qualification test and successfully become a Qualified Technician in one of these domains in the last five years (since January, 2010), you will be receiving an email inviting you to register yourself for the ABA Certification. The only thing required to receive this ABA Certification is a $12 processing fee and you will then be registered with the ABA Registry (which is an online registrar). You will immediately be registered as an ABA Certified Candidate internationally.

For any candidates who have taken customized tests with Arboriculture Canada through your organization or company in the chainsaw domain, please contact Nancy to inquire which equivalency is applicable to your test.

Arboriculture Canada is choosing to endorse and support the goals and aims of the ABA, as we believe that the intentions align nicely with our corporate vision and the recognition of ABA qualifications around the world will serve to improve the safety of working arborists and chainsaw operators.

Nine instructors and industry experts from Canada and the US attended this intensive train the trainer program. The group included:

Dwayne Neustaeter – Train the Trainer Instructor

Dave Ward – Arboriculture Canada Instructor

John Ransom – Arboriculture Canada Instructor

Mark Cooke – Arboriculture Canada Instructor

Matt Logan – Arboriculture Canada Instructor

Danny LeBlanc – Arboriculture Canada Instructor

Michael Harrell – North American Training Solutions Instructor

Bob Smith – Humber College Instructor

Andrew Hordyk – Arboriculture Canada Instructor

Instructor Group - Chainsaw Intensive Train the Trainer

The program included an in depth analysis of the competency profiles for each of the chainsaw modules offered by Arboriculture Canada. Teaching templates, power point materials, course workbooks and exam questions and format for all blocks of instruction in our chainsaw modules were reviewed and discussed. The purpose of this process is to ensure that skills, techniques and methods are safe and modern and instructional material is consistent across the country in the following modules:

Chainsaw Safety & Cutting Techniques

Technical Tree Falling & Cutting

Advanced Hazard & Danger Tree Cutting & Falling

Hazard & Danger Tree Cutting Techniques for Power Service Restoration

This panel of experts in our industry draws on a combined 150 plus years of experience using chainsaws and working in the urban forest, from owning and operating tree services, working for municipalities and teaching in college environments. This experience, expertise and shared knowledge serve to strengthen and improve course curriculum and teaching methodologies of our courses.

Attendees delivered a block of instruction in camera and before their colleagues, which was followed by a peer review and feedback session on all aspects of the instruction, including the strengths and weaknesses; from introduction, use of accelerated teaching techniques and suggestions on ways to increase retention and the effectiveness of teaching the content. A day was spent in the snow at the edge of the lake, studying and practicing advanced tree falling and cutting techniques. An evening of chainsaw maintenance in the shop, tearing down saws, examining maintenance practices and learning from each other was a techie’s dream.

Our customers will see new course workbooks for all chainsaw training modules in 2011. A complete rewrite of these modules has recently been completed, with accompanying photo’s, diagrams and illustrations to better supplement the learning during the training programs. These new workbooks provide additional resource material which will strength the retention of learning and supply a resource that can be used following the course to remind students of the skills that they learned. In time, this learning resource will be available for sale to arborists and chainsaw professionals outside of our student groups and around the world.

The mantra of the week – ‘Cut Straight’ – reverberated strong and was heartfelt. Each instructor is passionate about teaching, and is especially passionate about reducing the accidents and fatalities caused by chainsaw accidents, cuts, and ‘struck-by’s when falling and cutting trees. This week was dedicated to studying the techniques used in chainsaw operations and tree felling, as well as learning and practicing teaching skills that will continue to make the programs delivered by Arboriculture Canada instructors effective and leading edge.

The unique personality, passion, authenticity and power of purpose was evident and strong in this group. Arboriculture Canada is proud and privileged to be associated with such quality people. To quote the creativity and quick wit of Bob Smith – all our customers can be assured that our instructors ‘gauge the depth of their cutting edge personalities’!

Arboriculture Canada offers instructor training privately for small groups of people. Contact us to learn more about how you can get instructor training that reveals the secrets of how to deliver high energy, memorable and effective presentations using adult learning techniques such as; suggestology, accelerated learning, edutainment and educomedy.

This is the last in a series where I have been discussing a sequenced planning method to tree felling. When read in sequence, the articles combine to describe an effective tree felling planning process. It has been my intention to encourage readers to think about many aspects when felling trees – with the focus being on tree faller safety.

It is important to remember that some tree felling techniques developed from years of trial and error and in field practice and in all cases deserve our respect and acknowledgement. It is difficult to produce conclusive scientific data that verifies certain aspects of tree felling techniques, due to the many variables that are at work when dealing with living organisms such as trees.

Remember that new tools cannot get into a toolbox when the lid is closed. An open mind is like an open toolbox and new tools when tried and proven are a wise addition.

In most cases, the back-cut is the final step when felling a tree. The back-cut removes the wood left preventing the notch from closing, it also forms the hinge wood. The hinge wood is the wood left uncut behind the notch and is what provides control and guidance to a felled tree. It is important to understand that the hinge can only offer control as long as it can work; when the hinge fails, control is lost.

Cutting & Forming the Hinge

Traditional Back Cuts

A crosscut saw was the tool of choice and for generations back-cuts were cut by hand with a crosscut saw, cutting from the back of the tree towards the notch. The modern chainsaw and tooth design offers us alternatives to this traditional method. The notch selected should be considered when deciding where to place the back-cut. Traditionally it has been recommended to raise back-cuts above the apex of the notch. This technique (called the stepped back-cut) forms a step or back stop and minimizes a tree from sliding backwards off the stump causing great risk to the faller. It is important to raise back-cuts whenever felling a tree with a small notch opening such as 45 degrees or less. In these cases, the hinge will have to break when the face notch closes. After all a notch with a 45 degree or less notch aperture will have to break the hinge and as a result will lose control when the tree in most cases is only half way to the ground. A limitation of a small notch aperture is that it forces hinge failure before the tree reaches the ground, thus causing loss of control and gravity takes over before the tree is on the ground. If limb tying or felling obstacles are present that could snag the falling tree a stepped back-cut is also advisable regardless of notch opening.

Many times when workers discuss tree felling notches, the conversation ends up being about what kind of notches are used and what they are called. Typically your hear about a common notch, a Humboldt notch, an open notch, and less frequently a v-notch, or swing notch. It is important to give techniques names because it helps identify one from another; however, it can also cause some problems. Typically when you learn a notching technique you identify the notch with a name and the learner connects the sequence of cuts and angles to that specific notch. This is typical basic training, however, I believe it is equally important to include an educational component that explains the ‘why’ behind the ‘how’. This leaves a worker with an understanding and the ability to make wise choices in order to achieve specific results.

Education is understanding how something works; training is knowing how to perform a technique that works. I find in many cases individuals who have been falling trees for a long time were never educated about the origins or reason why the technique was developed and simply repeat the same traditions, not giving thought to what the notch is, what the notch does and how it can be cut to enhance and achieve desired results. The fact is we learn so much about falling trees and cutting notches by doing and we tend to follow what we saw from those that cut before us.

A powerful example of this is the common notch. The common notch is typically cut with a 45 degree opening. Why a 45 degree opening? The explanation of why lies in history. The modern day chainsaw has only been in use realistically since the 1950’s, which means for many years prior the tools available for cutting notches were different. The tools most commonly used in North America since the arrival of the white man was the crosscut saw and axe. In order to cut a notch in a tree with a crosscut saw and an axe, the first cut is sawn perpendicular to the grain of the tree with the crosscut saw. Next, an axe chips the wood out using downward angled strikes; it is interesting to observe that an axe chips out wood best at a 45-degree angle to the wood grain. It is reasonable to deduce that the 45-degree common notch is a result of the limitations of the tools available at the time. Many cut the same notch today as it was done hundreds of year ago. Some consider that this notch was technically developed yet history suggests otherwise, the 45-degree notch is largely the result of tradition and older equipment limitations.

What is a notch and what does it do? A notch is an opening made into a tree trunk by making two angled cuts into the trunk with the intention being that the notch starts the tree falling in the desired direction of the fall and dictates how long the hinge can work and when it will have to break. From a mechanical point of view this notch in the tree changes the gravitational load forces on the remaining wood fibre, and the wood fibre left behind the notch is referred to as hinge wood. I will discuss hinge wood and tree falling control further in my next article.

Therefore rather than focusing on what a notch is named or called, let us look at what we want the notch to do for us when falling trees. Whenever I ask students if they would like to learn techniques that would improve safety and control of falling trees they all raise their hands or nod their heads in agreement. I must say that I am speaking in this article about notches that specifically focus on maximizing safety and control. The notching technique I am speaking of in this article is not a typical production falling notching technique. The technique has many technical considerations that are necessary to allow other important aspects of the tree falling process to work better and longer, such as the hinge. This notching technique is not based on tradition and equipment limitations as it requires fallers to think and plan and not simply follow a cookie cutter routine.

In order to improve safety and control when falling trees it is important to aim notches in the desired direction of fall and ensure that the completed notch opening or aperture should be of sufficient degrees to allow the hinge to provide control all the way to the ground. It is also important that the two cuts made to form the notch meet evenly and have no by-pass as this can encourage premature hinge failure.

The following simple three-step notching plan can help anyone achieve consistent and repeatable notching results.

Step 1

Determine the angle formed by the trunk and the ground level; this angle should be the same as the angle or aperture of your notch opening. This will ensure that your hinge has every opportunity to work all the way to the ground giving a greater degree of control. Trees grow nearly perpendicular to level ground so often an opening of 70 to 90 degrees is common. However, trees growing on heavy slopes will always try to grow parallel to the force of gravity, this plant response is called geotropism, and in some cases the angle created by the trunk and the ground level is well over 100 degrees or well under 45 degrees.

Open Face Notch

Step 2

Stand beside the tree and behind your saw, with your chainsaw positioned to begin cutting the top cut of the notch aiming the sights in the direction you want to fall the tree. The felling sights are raised ridges, indentations or black lines and are located on the top and both sides of the saw body on most professional model chainsaws. Wherever these sights are pointing when cutting the notch should indicate the direction the tree should start to fall. (NOTE: many factors dictate where a tree will fall and an aimed notch does not guarantee the tree will fall in that direction.)

Line up your felling sights

Step 3

Make the top cut first, and then the bottom cut of the notch. By doing this you can use the kerf created as a window to know when to stop cutting when making the final cut in order to avoid by-pass or mismatching. It is important to have even alignment where the top and bottom cut meet.

Make your top cut first

Following these three simple steps can improve your safety and control when felling trees. As often is the case with working with trees, chainsaws and gravity, there is no substitute for hands on practice, coaching, training and education. I always encourage people to attend hands on courses and attend seminars – after all education is a journey. It is my intention to stimulate thought with this article and get fallers to think about why they make the particular notches they make, where the techniques originated and why it developed. I have never seen one tree the same as another so why should we use a notching technique that is the same for every tree. In most cases it makes sense that techniques evolve that are similar and have common trends and that is a good thing. Just remember that repetitive complacency is a silent killer. Avoid mindless routine, challenge yourself daily to think through your work and make adjustments regularly even though they may seem minor. This engages your mind and stimulates learning.

In closing I want to tell you the name of this notching technique; it is called ‘the open face notch’, I think the name in this case says a lot, ‘open face, open mind’.

In my next article I will explain how the back-cut and hinge work together with the notch.

Having a clearly identified and prepared escape route is one of the most important parts of any felling plan. Statistics show that a well-planned and utilized escape plan has a significant impact on your personal safety. Accident and fatality reports also reveal some useful information regarding workers injured when falling trees.

People falling trees have learned over the years that the area directly on either side or directly behind the tree is very dangerous. This is because branches, tops and trunk sections often fall near the base of a falling tree.

One type of falling mishap, know as a barber chair, is particularly dangerous. A barber chair occurs when a tree being felled delaminates vertically before the hinge is cut thin enough to bend. The term refers to the sliding action of the old style barber chair that positioned patrons in a head down, feet up position so the barber could more easily shave with the straight razor.

In falling, a barber chair occurs when using conventional back-cuts where the hinge is formed by cutting the wood from the back of the tree towards the hinge. As the saw severs the more resilient sapwood fibres typically found in the outer rings of a tree, the more brittle heartwood must resist the bending load. In cases of heavy forward lean and in older trees, this can result in the hinge wood splitting upwards as the tree falls. When the tree top contacts the ground the section of tree that has split upwards crushes either the remaining wood column straight backwards or the split standing section tears and rolls off to either side. In either case, the best place to be is away and at an angle.

Another compelling justification for the escape route is that while a tree is being cut, vibrations sent up through the entire tree can cause branches and tops to loosen. This vibration dislodges branches, where the sway from wind will not. As a tree begins to fall the force of gravity acting on it changes as well and a branch or dead top that is hung up for many years will suddenly dislodge during the first several seconds the tree is falling. These loosened limbs and tops fall generally within a few feet of the base. Trees that have dead tops or dead branches often referred to as widow makers for this very reason, because many a tree faller has been struck or killed.

The 5-15-90 rule is a concept we can use to emphasize the importance of using an escape route. Review of where tree falling accidents and fatalities occurred revealed that 90% of all accidents and fatalities happen within the first 15 seconds of the tree falling and within 5 feet of the base of the felled tree. Therefore, if you identify, plan and use an escape route you can increase your chance of survival or escaping injury by 90% and that the best escape route is at an angle away from the falling tree.

The most advisable angle of escape is away from the direction of the falling tree at an angle approximately 135 degrees from the direction of fall or 45 degrees from the opposite of the direction of fall. (see diagram)

Many times obstacles or terrain influence the escape route plan, therefore it is not an exact science but rather the escape zone is at an angle diagonally away from the direction of fall, as illustrated in the diagram.

Remember: Identify, Prepare and Use an Escape whenever you fall a tree.

Both of the escape routes shown here are 135 degrees from the direction of fall. It is also 45 degrees from the opposite of the direction of fall.

An important step of any falling plan (and one I believe that is often the most overlooked) is assessing the lean. In almost all cases whenever possible it is best to fell a tree in the direction it is naturally leaning. That is to say that if all of the strength of the wood fibres holding the tree up against gravity were to be severed or be instantly released then the tree would fall exactly where gravity is taking it. Therefore, if you can fell a tree in the direction of its natural lean gravity will ensure it falls that direction.

In my last article, I touched on height measure and how, if you have determined how tall the tree is and accurately assess the lean, then there is little that can cause the tree to fall anywhere other than planned.

Assessing lean is much more than the angle of the trunk. Other factors must be considered. I tell my students to consider the entire ‘bio-mass’ of the tree as this is what truly creates bendin gon the trunk. The ‘bio-mass’ is all of the parts of the tree combined – every branch and trunk. This is best assessed as part of your outer perimeter survey s described in the previous article.

The bio-mass and lean is best assessed from a distance from the tree. In your mind’s eye, draw a line around the entire tree, being sure it touches the tips of every branch, start at the base of the trunk and then proceed left or right around the entire canopy or bio-mass of the tree. Once you have this visualized, split that shape in half (it usually is an oval or egg shape) and imagine a line plumb down the center. The distance this line is in relation to the notching area of the trunk tells you how much lean you are dealing with.

This tree shows about 5 - 7 feet of lean.

This tree shows approximately 1 foot of lean

It is important to look at the tree from all sides and assess lean as you go because the lean will change from different viewing locations. Using this method the natural lean may be determined and the fell should proceed in that direction. If there are obstacles in the way of this natural lean, then other technical felling or rigging techniques are needed and worked into the plan.

What I have just described is how to calculate ‘forward lean’. There is another aspect of lean that is also important to evaluate. Once the ‘forward lean’ is established, it is important to eliminate any side lean in relation to your direction of fall. Often side lean is not considered. The problem is when obstacles are in the way of the ‘natural-lean’, the faller must obviously choose to fell the tree away from the obstacle. In doing this – side lean becomes a factor.

Side lean is lean that is perpendicular to the felling notch and hinge. This is important because wood is much weaker in the vertical plane than the horizontal (imagine trying to split a log by hitting along the side, yet when you hit it from an end, it splits relatively easily).

Gravity acts on the hinge much the same way; as the tree falls it can cause the hinge to break prematurely, sending the tree once again in the direction of the ‘natural lean’. Therefore, once natural forward lean is determined, be sure that there is no side lean acting on your hinge 90 degrees to your direction of fall.

Mastering how to perform a lean assessment will ensure all of your trees fall exactly where you want them to. By using the outer and inner perimeter survey and height measure you can predict accurately and confidently where the top of the tree will land.

There are more factors to consider in your felling plan and in my next article I will discuss establishing and using an escape route.

The first step in any work plan and especially a felling plan is evaluating site hazards, tree risk indicators and tree placement considerations such as tree height and felling site location and placement. When evaluating a site and tree, I like to look at it from two viewpoints – one from a distance back and another up close. This two-stepped process I like to call my outer perimeter and inner perimeter surveys. The word ‘perimeter’ is key in that it indicates a circular or all encompassing look.

Perform the outer perimeter survey from a distant back, preferably about the distance back as the height of the tree. View the site and tree from all sides by simply walking around the tree. During the outer perimeter survey, some site considerations you are looking for are obstacles or hazards such as power lines, other trees, buildings, fences etc. Tree considerations include the size of the tree, dead limbs or tops, decay and prominent lean. It is always best to choose to fell your tree with the natural lean so gravity can work for you. I will expand on lean assessment in the next article of this series.

During the outer perimeter survey, site considerations you are looking for are obstacles or hazards such as power lines, other trees, buildings and fences. Tree considerations include the size of the tree, dead limbs or tops, decay and prominent lean.

One final step I recommend performing as part of the outer perimeter survey is to determine the trees height as this often dictates if a tree can fit in the desired drop zone. A simple field method for determining the height of a tree can be done using a straight stick roughly the length of your leg.

1. Cradle the stick in your hand and hold it up to your eye, (be sure you have safety glasses on) by aiming down along the stick line it up with the base of the tree.

2. Next, hold the stick upright so the stick and your arm form a 90-degree angle.

3. Sight along the top of the stick and walk forward or backward until the top of the stick is in line with the top of the tree and the bottom of the stick where you are holding it is lining up with base of the tree. When this lines up, the spot where you are standing is very close to the height of the tree.

Estimating a Tree's Height. The worker on the left is sighting along the stick to the bottom of the tree while the worker on the right is lining up the top of the tree with the top of the stick. Though simple, the method is quite accurate.

The more you practice this technique, the more accurate you will become. This technique is difficult to explain in words, but is quickly learned with some hands on training. By determining the height of a tree, it becomes easier to decide where to fell the tree and ensure it is free and clear of contacting any obstacles during the felling process.

The inner perimeter survey is done up close and focuses specifically on the tree, the placement of your notch and establishing your escape route. Once again, make a complete circle around the base of your tree in close proximity to the tree, and look for additional indication of wood decay and cavities. Mushrooms or conks can be indications of internal wood decay and should be seriously considered as decayed wood affects the performance of your hinge. Additionally, the desired direction of fall may change due to the presence of a cavity or wound where your hinge wood needs to be. Your inner perimeter survey also involves clearing brush, debris or anything that could impede your cutting of the notch, back-cut and escape route.

The inner perimeter survey should include watching for root decay & structural damages.

An inner perimeter survey also involves clearing brush, debris or anything that could impede your cutting of the notch, back-cut and escape route.

This survey process is the beginning of your plan and is very important. It is step one of a five step planning process for felling trees and integrates into all of the other steps in this plan. I will be referring back to the outer and inner perimeter surveys as I continue this series.

Remember accidents are unplanned events and an excellent way to avoid an accident is to plan your work and work your plan. We use a planning process and explain it in series of steps to help us remember and follow a system. When felling a tree these steps are blended and integrated in our mind as we formulate our felling plan.

Thank-you for taking time to read this article and sharing some of your valuable time with me by being willing to think and consider adding some tools or techniques to your tree felling toolbox.